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What is the Sylheti Bengali population? Sylhetis are Bengalis of Srihattamandala or Shrihatta. The etymology of the term Sylhet comes from Srihattamandala. (“Bengal, like Samatata, Harikela and others, ‘Srihattamandala’ denoting the regional identity, as we know from the Kalapur inscriptions of the samanta rulers of Samatata belonging to the 7th century A.D. The Harikela coins had several local series, and in one series the word ‘Veraka’ (Barak) used to be inscribed. This explains the position in the 8th–9th century A.D. In the 10th century A.D., the Chandra rulers of East Bengal ruled over Srihattamandala, as we know from the Paschimbhag copper-plate inscription.”) This is the simple meaning of this. Srihattamandala is Srihatta, and Srihatta itself is the ancient name of Sylhet.

Srihatta consisted of regions like Barak Valley, or “"Srihatta or Sylhet in ancient times perhaps denoted the territory now covered by the Sylhet districts of Bangladesh, Karimganj, Hailakandi, and Cachar districts of Assam (India), and the adjoining Kailasahar-Dharmanagar areas of Tripura (India). It is a single valley formed by the river Barak and its branches, viz. Surma and Kushiara, with uniform physical features that make it a distinct geographical division and the homeland of a homogeneous group of people who speak a common dialect of Bengali, called Srihatti or Sylheti.!"
-J. B. Bhattacharjee, Pre-Colonial North East India”

“Srihatta in ancient times must have been the common nomenclature for the entire Barak/Surma Valley."
-J. B. Bhattacharjee, Pre-Colonial North
East India

Geographically, the history and sociology of the Barak Valley have to be interpreted in terms of its geographical structure. Geographically, it is an extension of the Bengal plains.

Naturally, Indo-Aryan settlement extended to the valley from Bengal in “early times” in its spontaneous eastward march to the farthest limits of the ploughable areas. They moved along the familiar terrain and stopped at the foot of the hills, as these hills were not suitable for the settled cultivators. Similarly, the flood-prone plain region was uninviting to the jhumias of the neighbouring hills. The undivided Barak Valley thus developed as the homeland of a distinct dialect group of Bengali from the ancient period.

It is a well-noted fact that Bengalis were part of the most ancient kingdoms of Barak Valley and not an isolated piece of information. Most historians, including R. C. Majumdar and J. B. Bhattacharjee, noted the presence of ancient Bengali kingdoms.

Prior to kingdom rule, this land is referred to as a geographical extension of the Bengal plains, and the village names and river names denote an already existing Bengali/Indo-Aryan language speaking population in Barak Valley or the several regions of Srihattamandala.

Later, in medieval times, Srihattamandala was conquered and ruled by many kingdoms during different periods. On the Barak Valley side, different parts came under Tripuri influence or rule between the 11th-13th centuries, Khaspur came under Koch rule in the 16th century, and in the 18th century, Khaspur passed to the Dimasa Kachari kingdom. The Sylhet-Karimganj side came under Turko-Afghan rule during the medieval period.

Even during the rule of Tibeto-Burmese kingdoms, and several other kingdoms conquest it is a well-noted fact that “Cachar was an extension of the Gangetic Bengal and even before the Koch rule several Bengalee settlements had developed in Cachar as a result of the natural movement of the people towards the east. No wonder, therefore, the official language of the kingdom was Bengali, while the coins and inscriptions of the Heramba rulers were inscribed in Sanskrit in Bengali script.” Bengali script and the Bengali language were officially used.

Sources:

-J. B. Bhattacharjee, Pre-Colonial North East India
-Cachar under British Rule North East India, J B Bhattacharjee
-History of Bengal by RC Majumdar, 1943
-Socio-Political Development of Surma Barak Valley from 5th to
13th Century A.D. Mehbubur Rahman Choudhury

The comments on these types of posts are usually derogatory or disrespectful. The problem is not whether they are opposing the decision to name the road after Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee itself, but how can people call him Bangladeshi or ask, “Who is he?”
Besides being the founding father of one of the major political parties, he played a major role in opposing Article 370. His contributions to Assam and Bengal played a major role in India.

-R.C. Majumdar, in his work History of the Freedom Movement in India, stated that it was due to the efforts of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee that Assam’s issue was brought into the national discourse. It was not treated as a marginal provincial concern. He called Shyama Prasad Mukherjee the “saviour” of the eastern frontier of India. Similarly, Bal Raj Madhok, who was one of Mukherjee’s contemporaries, viewed Assam as the ‘Eastern Sentinel’ of India. He argued that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s resistance regarding Assam was not just about a territorial issue, but also about the protection of the cultural and religious identity of the Northeast. Balraj Madhok gives credit to Mukherjee for using his position in the Constituent Assembly to lobby members to lend support to Assam for its right to opt out of the grouping scheme.
-Assamese cultural personality Pranjal Saikia paid tribute to SP Mookerjee for his unconditional support to Assam and Asomiya society at a critical juncture in time.
The post is solely made to recognise the efforts that many are dismissing and making disrespectful comments about.

The official census taken from time to time, since the British occupation, show that the Bengalees had a good majority in the Cachar Valley Burns, in 1837, had found that “a large proportion' of the population was Bengalee.
Of the total population of 85,522 in 1851, there were 60,281 Bengalees.
Given the book- “Cachar under British Rule North East India, J B Bhattacharjee”

Another source says that, “With an estimated 50,000 people, the people of Southern Cachar are divided into several communities,
each with its own distinctive traditions. When it came to combining Hindu and native customs, the Cacharies,while not the most numerous, were crucial to the administration of the area.” (Talks about administrative dominance as the capital was in south Cachar) The population of Dimasa were mostly concentrated in north Cachar and South Cachar was Bengali dominated.

Cachar has been ruled by several kingdoms throughout history, including the Koch kingdom and later the Dimasa Kachari kingdom. These kingdoms undoubtedly influenced the region’s population and culture. However, when discussing the earliest known inhabitants, Bengali archaeological and historical evidence is also present.

As J. B. Bhattacharjee wrote:
“Cachar was an extension of the ‘Gangetic Bengal’ and even before the Koch rule several Bengalee settlements had developed in Cachar as a result of the natural movement of the people towards the east. No wonder, therefore, the official language of the kingdom was Bengali, while the coins and inscriptions of the Heramba rulers were inscribed in Sanskrit in Bengali script. The earliest Bengalee inhabitants of the valley belonged to agrarian classes, the Painis, for example.”

Geographically, the Barak Valley formed part of the greater Bengal region in ancient times, and early Bengali settlements had already taken place before any kingdom rule even began. The influence of the Koch and later the Dimasa Kachari kingdoms became prominent during the 17th century, and 18th century marking the shift of the capital to Khaspur marking an important phase in Cachar’s political history.

Demographically, the Barak Valley remained predominantly Bengali, which also helps explain why both the Koch and the Dimasa Kachari administrations adopted Bengali as the court language.

Bengali Sylheti cultural presence did not develop here solely through migration. The Cachar plains and Sylhet were already part of the Surma Valley, making them a shared geographical region. In early times the boundary Srihattamandala or Srihattarajya extended to its natural limits and the donated villages mentioned in some of these inscriptions were scattered over Cachar, Karimganj and Sylhet districts and the Kailasahar-Dharmanagar area of Tripura. The culture of the Bengalis of Cachar, or the Barak Valley, has been shaped since the time of the Harikela, Chandra, and Deva dynasties, evolving into the dialect now known as Sylheti or Srihatta Bangla in this region, which was part of Srihattamandala in the ancient kingdoms.

During the 17th-18th century era Dimasa Kacharis and Bengalis through governance, culture, religion, trade, and everyday life. Their relationship included cooperation, cultural exchange, and coexistence.

There was someone who made claims that the Tibeto-Burman community is being neglected here in Barak valley, and a very passive-aggressive tone was used. The person also made multiple posts accusing the Bengali community claiming that whenever the Silchar Railway Station name was proposed to be changed to Dimasa Raja Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu, “sections of the Bengali community allegedly responded with protests, opposition, and demonstrations.” A big claim.
Very serious claims and accusations were made against the Bengali community while completely ignoring the Bengali side of history and merely portraying one section of society as the victim.

-Let me tell you this there is a life-size statue of “Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu at the Silchar Circuit House, unveiled in 2021.” Bengalis respect and take pride in the legacy of the Dimasa Kachari Kingdom in Barak Valley.

-A simple tin sheet at a railway station became breaking news to accuse Bengalis of being anti-Dimasa, but not a single person has the guts to point out the daily and obvious “racism” that Bengali people face.
-A few examples are given in the pics.

-Also when it comes to “neglect,” what is a better example than Barak Valley the forgotten child of Assam, facing a stepmotherly attitude from the government.

-Although Barak Valley has one of the major city of Assam and has major districts with a huge population and GDP generation, even getting potholes repaired and roads fixed requires a lot of effort. Road and infrastructure problems remain a daily battle for common people. Employment is another major issue.

-An economist pointed out the fact that, according to the Assam Human Development Report 2014, on the HDI ordinal scale, Cachar is ranked 24th, Hailakandi is 27th, and Karimganj is 26th out of 27 districts. Health-wise too, the performance of Barak Valley is miserable; Cachar is ranked 27th, Hailakandi 24th, and Karimganj 25th. And if we look at education, Cachar is ranked 16th, Karimganj is 19th, and Hailakandi is ranked 24th.

-That person also shared a lot of misinformation and ignorant oral history, but obviously many people with an “anti-Bengali” mentality will end up supporting those claims blindly.

-The Paschimbhag Copperplate Inscription and the Bhatera Copper” Plates are important “physical” evidence for the early ancient history of the Barak region. Many historians have stated this fact, based on inscriptions, literary sources, and archaeological evidence, that Bengali community have been present in the region since time immemorial. But these sources are mostly neglected and only misinformation is being spread.

-Today, many Bengalis themselves are unaware of this ancient historical legacy. This is a clear sign of “cultural suppression”.

-In August 2021, the Education Minister of Assam sent letters to the student unions representing different linguistic and ethnic groups across the state for a conference on the state’s education policy. A total of 34 organisations were invited. Guess what? Not a single representative from Barak Valley or any “Bengali organisation” was invited, even though Barak Valley is home to Assam’s second most populous district and one of its major cities. Despite the region’s “large population”, not a single representative was included.

-For over 60 years, the Assam government did not officially recognize the Bengali language movement victims as Shaheeds (martyrs). Although the Chief Minister referred to them as Shaheeds during his speeches, they have still not received official or academic recognition as martyrs.

-False narratives about the history of Bengalis continue to circulate, misinformation is often accepted without scrutiny, and primary historical evidence is frequently ignored. On social media, Bengalis of the Barak Valley are routinely labelled as “Bangladeshis” by many ignorant people.

-The so called “Politicians” making communal claims and simply making Facebook post should also focus more on the miserable condition of Barak Valley rather than turning every issue into one of tribals vs non-tribals.

There was someone who made claims that the Tibeto-Burman community is being neglected here in Barak valley, and a very passive-aggressive tone was used. The person also made multiple posts accusing the Bengali community claiming that whenever the Silchar Railway Station name was proposed to be changed to Dimasa Raja Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu, “sections of the Bengali community allegedly responded with protests, opposition, and demonstrations.” A big claim.
Very serious claims and accusations were made against the Bengali community while completely ignoring the Bengali side of history and merely portraying one section of society as the victim.

-Let me tell you this there is a life-size statue of “Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu at the Silchar Circuit House, unveiled in 2021.” Bengalis respect and take pride in the legacy of the Dimasa Kachari Kingdom in Barak Valley.

-A simple tin sheet at a railway station became breaking news to accuse Bengalis of being anti-Dimasa, but not a single person has the guts to point out the daily and obvious “racism” that Bengali people face.
-A few examples are given in the pics.

-Also when it comes to “neglect,” what is a better example than Barak Valley the forgotten child of Assam, facing a stepmotherly attitude from the government.

-Although Barak Valley has one of the major city of Assam and has major districts with a huge population and GDP generation, even getting potholes repaired and roads fixed requires a lot of effort. Road and infrastructure problems remain a daily battle for common people. Employment is another major issue.

-An economist pointed out the fact that, according to the Assam Human Development Report 2014, on the HDI ordinal scale, Cachar is ranked 24th, Hailakandi is 27th, and Karimganj is 26th out of 27 districts. Health-wise too, the performance of Barak Valley is miserable; Cachar is ranked 27th, Hailakandi 24th, and Karimganj 25th. And if we look at education, Cachar is ranked 16th, Karimganj is 19th, and Hailakandi is ranked 24th.

-That person also shared a lot of misinformation and ignorant oral history, but obviously many people with an “anti-Bengali” mentality will end up supporting those claims blindly.

-The Paschimbhag Copperplate Inscription and the Bhatera Copper” Plates are important “physical” evidence for the early ancient history of the Barak region. Many historians have stated this fact, based on inscriptions, literary sources, and archaeological evidence, that Bengali community have been present in the region since time immemorial. But these sources are mostly neglected and only misinformation is being spread.

-Today, many Bengalis themselves are unaware of this ancient historical legacy. This is a clear sign of “cultural suppression”.

-In August 2021, the Education Minister of Assam sent letters to the student unions representing different linguistic and ethnic groups across the state for a conference on the state’s education policy. A total of 34 organisations were invited. Guess what? Not a single representative from Barak Valley or any “Bengali organisation” was invited, even though Barak Valley is home to Assam’s second most populous district and one of its major cities. Despite the region’s “large population”, not a single representative was included.

-For over 60 years, the Assam government did not officially recognize the Bengali language movement victims as Shaheeds (martyrs). Although the Chief Minister referred to them as Shaheeds during his speeches, they have still not received official or academic recognition as martyrs.

-False narratives about the history of Bengalis continue to circulate, misinformation is often accepted without scrutiny, and primary historical evidence is frequently ignored. On social media, Bengalis of the Barak Valley are routinely labelled as “Bangladeshis” by many ignorant people.

-The so called “Politicians” making communal claims and simply making Facebook post should also focus more on the miserable condition of Barak Valley rather than turning every issue into one of tribals vs non-tribals.

-There was someone who made claims that the Tibeto-Burman community is being neglected here in Barak valley, and a very passive-aggressive tone was used. The person also made multiple posts accusing the Bengali community claiming that whenever the Silchar Railway Station name was proposed to be changed to Dimasa Raja Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu, “sections of the Bengali community allegedly responded with protests, opposition, and demonstrations.” A big claim.
Very serious claims and accusations were made against the Bengali community while completely ignoring the Bengali side of history and merely portraying one section of society as the victim.

-Let me tell you this there is a life-size statue of “Gobinda Chandra Narayana Hasnu at the Silchar Circuit House, unveiled in 2021.” Bengalis respect and take pride in the legacy of the Dimasa Kachari Kingdom in Barak Valley.

-A simple tin sheet at a railway station became breaking news to accuse Bengalis of being anti-Dimasa, but not a single person has the guts to point out the daily and obvious “racism” that Bengali people face.
-A few examples are given in the pics.

-Also when it comes to “neglect,” what is a better example than Barak Valley the forgotten child of Assam, facing a stepmotherly attitude from the government.

-Although Barak Valley has one of the major city of Assam and has major districts with a huge population and GDP generation, even getting potholes repaired and roads fixed requires a lot of effort. Road and infrastructure problems remain a daily battle for common people. Employment is another major issue.

-An economist pointed out the fact that, according to the Assam Human Development Report 2014, on the HDI ordinal scale, Cachar is ranked 24th, Hailakandi is 27th, and Karimganj is 26th out of 27 districts. Health-wise too, the performance of Barak Valley is miserable; Cachar is ranked 27th, Hailakandi 24th, and Karimganj 25th. And if we look at education, Cachar is ranked 16th, Karimganj is 19th, and Hailakandi is ranked 24th.

-That person also shared a lot of misinformation and ignorant oral history, but obviously many people with an “anti-Bengali” mentality will end up supporting those claims blindly.

-The Paschimbhag Copperplate Inscription and the Bhatera Copper” Plates are important “physical” evidence for the early ancient history of the Barak region. Many historians have stated this fact, based on inscriptions, literary sources, and archaeological evidence, that Bengali community have been present in the region since time immemorial. But these sources are mostly neglected and only misinformation is being spread.

-Today, many Bengalis themselves are unaware of this ancient historical legacy. This is a clear sign of “cultural suppression”.

-In August 2021, the Education Minister of Assam sent letters to the student unions representing different linguistic and ethnic groups across the state for a conference on the state’s education policy. A total of 34 organisations were invited. Guess what? Not a single representative from Barak Valley or any “Bengali organisation” was invited, even though Barak Valley is home to Assam’s second most populous district and one of its major cities. Despite the region’s “large population”, not a single representative was included.

-For over 60 years, the Assam government did not officially recognize the Bengali language movement victims as Shaheeds (martyrs). Although the Chief Minister referred to them as Shaheeds during his speeches, they have still not received official or academic recognition as martyrs.

-False narratives about the history of Bengalis continue to circulate, misinformation is often accepted without scrutiny, and primary historical evidence is frequently ignored. On social media, Bengalis of the Barak Valley are routinely labelled as “Bangladeshis” by many ignorant people.

-The so called “Politicians” making communal claims and simply making Facebook post should also focus more on the miserable condition of Barak Valley rather than turning every issue into one of tribals vs non-tribals.

^(Note: more emphasis on architecture in barak valley and dima hasao .)

The Dimasas have historically ruled over several regions and constructed several forts temples and Monolithic structures in North East

Historical records state that Dimasas had their first Capital along the Banks of Dhanashree river in Dimapur. The archeological remains exhibit a gateway of the fortified city with pointed arches, carved battlements, octagonal turrets etc. can be assigned so fifteenth century AD. Among other remains are the monolithic carved pillars lying within the complex. Similar architecture can be found in kasomari pathar in Golaghat distrct of Assam .

In 1526 when Ahoms driven of the Dimasa from Dimapur , they entered the Hills of present day Dima hasao and settled their capital at Maibong . The fortified complex is mostly obliterated now except a monolithic hut hewn out in a big boulder on the Mahur river is survived against the odd vagaries of nature. Inscriptions inscribed in wall stones suggest that the temple was dedicated to the Goddess Ranachandi by the Dimasa king Haris Chandra in 1721 AD.

The notable feature of the monolithic temple is the do-chala roof curvilinear eaves show the influence of Bengal's architecture.

It is believed that in mid 18th century century, the Dimasas had established their capital at Khaspur in the Barak valley.

The valley was referred to 'Chandrapuri Visaya' in the Nidhanpur copper plate grant of Bhaskar Varman of Kamarupa in 7th century AD. It throws light on the cultural activities of the people and narrated about the existence of temples but none of such structures are exist now.

However, in the valley some temples of brick masonry of the Dimasa dynasty of late medieval period can be seen. It is believed that the king Haris Chandra Narayan had built a Siva temple at Khaspur in saka 1683 corresponding to AD 1771 and built also a palace at the locality. The monuments standing at the site are a gateway popularly known as Singha dwar, Baradwari, Snan Mandir and temples of Ranachandi. Made of brick masonry, the structures are alike in external decorations and the influence of chala architecture of Bengal can be clearly noticed.

Most of the temples are smaller structures with chala roofs are having tapered pilasters at the corners. The door openings are arch shaped. The temple walls are provided with depressions. The use of lattice patterns are also visible in some of the structures. "Baradwari' is a work of brick masonry, built in double story and possesses twelve openings. Another notable structure is the Snan Mandir, probably used for sacred bathing of the deity. The small structure is unique in appearance and style has four openings on four directions and topped by a domical finial. Several such temple structures with chala coverings are found in the Bihara-Brahmangaon and Sonai localities in the valley.

The temple architecture of the Dimasa does not appear innovative in style.The architectural features do not reflect any evolutionary trend.

However, an attempt had been made to evolve a new style in later period. This is evident in the Siva Mandir and Nandi Mandir at Sonai, built during the reign of Krishna Chandra (AD 1780–1813). The temples have square plans with elongated devakosthas, rectangular insets, and pyramidal sikharas. Their architecture differs from both the Maibong–Khaspur tradition and ​ the temples of the Brahmaputra Valley, but this later architectural style did not survive for long.

It may be all probable that the Dimasa rulers might had brought the skilled artisans who possessed the mastery over the work on brick masonry with chala shaped huts and most probably the artisans had been brought from Bengal.

The Dimasa Architecture grew heavily under Bengal's influence and ended with the decline of the Dimasa rule. The Kachari Fort built during this time depicts the noteworthy architecture and a mix of Non-Aryan and Hinduism culture

I’ve been seeing a massive push lately especially from certain corners of the diaspora in places like London trying to aggressively push the narrative that Sylheti is a completely separate, independent language with its own sovereign, ancient writing system called Sylhet Nagri.

But if you actually look at the foundational linguistic surveys and historical texts, this modern narrative completely falls apart. It looks less like a legitimate linguistic movement and more like a manufactured identity crisis.

I was looking through some key historical sources recently, specifically The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language by Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji and George Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India and the reality is starkly different from the internet propaganda:

1. It’s a North Indian import, not a sovereign regional evolution

Chatterji explicitly notes that "Silēṭ Nāgarī" was just a modified form of Deva-nagari. It didn’t evolve independently in the region. He notes that its presence in East Bengal was purely the result of early colonies of proselytizing groups coming down from Upper India who brought their vernaculars (Hindi/Urdu dialects) and wrote them in Deva-nagari. (2nd pic)

2. Highly exclusive and restricted demographic use

The data shows this wasn't some universal regional script used by the general population of Sylhet. Chatterji points out that it had a highly restricted, exclusive use only within a specific religious community. Grierson backs this up by showing it was entirely confined to the lower-class strata of that same faith group. It was never an overarching cultural script for the entire region; it was a segregated, niche writing system used exclusively by one particular community to the exclusion of everyone else.

3. It was a tool for basic literacy, not formal or high culture

The diaspora love to paint this as a grand administrative or court script. But Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India completely dismantles this. According to the records:

• It was a shortcut: The text explicitly states that the only reason people used it was because it was "much easier to learn than Bengali."
• It was for the illiterate: It was primarily used by illiterate men just to sign their names.
• Zero official status: The survey explicitly states it was "hardly used,—never, at least, in formal documents."
• The literature was still Bengali: Even the regional folk literature (Puthis) printed in this character were explicitly Puthis in Bengali. (1st pic)

4. The Diaspora Propaganda Machine

So why the sudden aggressive push? It’s largely being driven by the overseas diaspora who are detached from the ground realities of the mainland. In an effort to carve out a distinct ethnic niche within Western multicultural funding structures (like getting separate council translation budgets or localized school curricula), they are trying to completely sever the region's speech from the Bengali family.

But as Grierson famously concluded in his survey:

>"The language spoken by the inhabitants of Eastern Sylhet is not intelligible to the natives of Central or Northern Bengal. It is, nevertheless, Bengali."

Using a script to claim a completely separate linguistic nationality is just a delusional identity crisis.

​

The 19 villages demand to be included under dima hasao is mainly by the insurgency/terrorist groups in dima hasao.

(This demand is part of their larger demand for a separate "Dimaraji" state)

The demand is more of a historical one~ the presence of dimasa kingdom in cachar. But these insurgency groups obviously donot know the bengali side of the history of Cachar. Cachar was historically under srihatta kingdom.

The 19 lakhipur villages donot even have dimasa majority. The villages have a mixed population or hmar, bengali, kuki, Zeliangrong & dimasa only upto 6%.

The demand was first officially submitted by these insurgency groups in 2012. They demanded upto 90 villages in cachar. The demand was rejected by central govt & heavily protested against, by the locales.

Now in 2026, the leader of these insurgency groups have the audacity to "self-declare" the 19 villages under "Dimaraji" & welcome the MLA of lakhipur with "dimaraji" poster in Pailapool.

We should remember this demand is by "surrendered" extremist terror groups and it directly impacts the safety of the local non-dimasa people living in those 19 villages in cachar. These are the same people who want to erase the history of bengalis in cachar.

The pages covering this news in social media seems to have been hijacked by these insurgency group supporters, who hardly make 6% in these villages.

Inclusion under "Dimaraji" will provide no benefit to the local residents, just the added fear of constantly living under a surrendered terrorist group.

https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/story/dima-raji-arch-during-kaushik-rais-barak-visit-rekindles-debate-over-proposed-inclusion-of-19-villages-in-assams-dima-hasao-1412791-2026-06-23

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/barak-valley-against-giving-away-26-villages-to-dimaraji-territorial-council/articleshow/14856351.cms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dima\_Halam\_Daogah

The video was about the terrible condition of the Meherpur-Medical road. Many residents of Meherpur went to the DC office to complain and request improvements, but he was busy in a meeting with a minister. After a long wait and repeated efforts, people were hoping that some action would finally be taken to improve the condition. But then, the news came that the DC had been transferred.
Credit to s_sarcar

Bengali presence in the Barak Valley existed long before the migrations during differnet kingdom rule, the colonial period and Partition. When it comes to Bengali history, many try to “intentionally” limit the history of the Barak Valley to the migration of Bengalis during kingdom rule and the colonial era. But the complete truth is that Bengali presence in the Barak Valley is ancient.
Many different kings and kingdoms have ruled the region, but that doesn’t automatically explain its “original inhabitants.” Although a clear pattern shows that most of the kingdoms, whether under Tibeto-Burmese kings or others, adopted “Bengali” as the official language and Bengali customs.
This pattern shows a strong Bengali presence since ancient times.
The historians don’t have proper evidence of who the first inhabitants were, but they are often presumed. Regardless of this, the point of the post is to emphasize the strong presence of Bengalis in the Surma/Barak Valley for ages.

“The process of social formation in the Surma Barak Valley region of Assam (India) and Bangladesh which in the ancient period was known as Srihatta or Sylhet in ancient times denoted the territory now covered in the Sylhet district of Bangladesh, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Cachar districts of Assam (India) and the adjoining Kailashar-Dharmanagar areas of Tripura (India).”

“In the early times the valley was covered by the state formation processes in SouthEast Bengal like Samatata, Harikela and others, 'Srihattamandala' denoting the regional identity as we know from the Kalapur inscriptions of the samanta rulers of Samatata belonging to 7th century A.D. The Harikela coins had several local series, and in one series the word
"Veraka' (Barak) used to be inscribed. This explains the position in 8th-9th century A.D.

In the 10th century A.D. the Chandra rulers of East Bengal ruled over Srihattamandala as we know from the paschimbhag copper-plate inscription. In the 11th-12th century A.D. the autonomous Srihatta state flourished in the valley under the Deva rulers mentioned in the Bhatera plates. The boundary of the Srihattamandala or Srihattarajya extended to its natural limits and the donated villages mentioned in some of these inscriptions were scattered over Cachar, Karimganj and Sylhet districts and the Kailasahar-Dharmanagar area of Tripura.”

(About 1000 years ago, Chandra dynasty was indigenous to Bengal.) (It is a well noted fact that many places in East Bengal during ancient times used to follow Buddhism. Atisa Dipankar, and native Bengali kingdoms like Pala and Chandra were Buddhist.)

In the 11th - 12th century A.D., the autonomous Srihatta state flourished in the valley under the Deva rulers mentioned in the Bhatera plates.

“Cachar was an extention of the Gangetic Bengal and even before the Koch rule several Bengalee settlements had developed in Cachar as a result of the natural movement of the people towards the east. So the Bengali population has a long history even before the Koch-rule. No wonder, therefore, the official language of the kingdom was Bengali, while the coins and inscriptions of the Heramba rulers were inscribed in Sanskrit in Bengali script.”

“The earliest Bengalee inhabitants of the valley belonged to agrarian classes, the Patnis, for example.”
(Bengali presence in the valley can be estimated to more than 1,000 years ago)

Now the Ahom Invasion and Shift to Khaspur
It is given in the book that,
“However, the Dimachas were defeated in heavy encounters at Lathia, Amlakhi and Tarang.”
“The Ahom army made further advance and ultimately occupied Maibong.”
“Tamradhvaj fled to Khaspur which since then had become the capital of the Heramba Kingdom.”
“King Tamradhvaj and his next two successors continued ruling from Maibong.
Only about 30 years later was the capital shifted to Khaspur.
The first Kachari (Dimasa) king to officially shift the capital and rule from Khaspur was Raja Harischandra Narayan.”
Ever since Khaspur had become the capital of Heramba, the kingdom was called by the people of Sylhet as ‘Cachar’ and the ruling Dimacha tribe as ‘Kacharis’.

“That the Cachar Valley was predominantly Bengali speaking can be ascertained from the fact that the members of the royal family and the Barmans in the plains were gradually Bengalised”
(Bengalis were already a predominant population)

(Source- Cachar under British Rule in North East India, J B Bhattacharjee,
Source: Maulana Azad Digital Library, chapter 2 Social formation)

“There is no doubt that some divisions of Srihatta became the homeland of the Indo-Aryan at a very early period of history.”
(SOURCE- J. B. Bhattacharjee, Social and Polity Formation in Pre-Colonial North East India.)
Decide a title

The 18-year-old athlete has now been selected to represent India at the World Arm Wrestling Championship in Tokyo, Japan, marking a major milestone in his sporting journey.

The irony of this post is that it justifies the Assam Movement as a struggle for the protection of a community, but somehow degrades the 1961 Language Movement by reducing it to merely “not speaking state language.” It makes an illogical comparison between a language movement and not speaking Hindi in India or Assamese in Assam.
The person seems to forget that every state and region in India recognizes its own regional language and does not simply impose Hindi while completely erasing its native language. The issue was not merely about opposing the state language in 61, the existence of Barak Valley’s mother tongue itself was being erased, which is a significant matter.

The 1961 movement began as a peaceful protest and turned violent because of police firing. In contrast, the Assam Movement was never just kept limted to a protest or a movement, many factions involved in it were responsible for the killing of innocent lives. There is nothing wrong with being concerned about protecting one’s culture and people, but how can someone justify the Assam Movement while simultaneously dismissing a language movement? Both were rooted in concerns about preserving identity and culture.

Yes, it is true that there were casualties on multiple sides, but the movement itself was initiated by a student union for a specific purpose and ultimately resulted in harm to many innocent people. If the movement can officially recognize its martyrs, then what is wrong with recognizing the massacres and damages as well? The number of martyrs has already been kept recorded, whereas most figures regarding massacres and damages are based on estimates from different sources.

You also describe these events as mere accusations, but anyone can simply search for the Silapathar massacre and many other massacres. The killings of babies and incidents of r@pe documented in those accounts are real and genuine. Many Assamese journalists have also acknowledged that innocent villagers were killed during this period.

While criticizing commissions for allegedly dehumanizing a community and lacking neutrality, you simultaneously use terms such as “Bongal” and then condemn one-sided narratives. That is a contradiction in itself.

Also making such big claims that the entire community was swamped and not understanding the other complex history is also one-sided narrative.

Srihatta Rabindranath (Bengali Year 1326, 20 Kartik)

Rabindranath Tagore visited Sylhet in 1919 during a tour that included Shillong, Guwahati, and Agartala. In a letter dated 3 December 1919, he wrote that he was moved by the affection he received there and delivered numerous lectures.

Sylhet is also associated with Tagore’s famous poem later titled “Shribhumi”, which begins,
মমতাবিহীন কালপ্রবাহে
বাংলার রাষ্ট্রসীমা হতে
নির্বাসিতা তুমি
সুন্দরী শ্রীভূমি।

ভারতী আপন পুণ্যহাতে
বাঙালির হৃদয়ের সাথে
মালা গেঁথে দিয়া
বাঁধি তব হিয়া।

সে বাঁধন চিরদিন তব কাছে
বাঙালির আশীর্বাদ গাঁথা হয়ে আছে।

“In the merciless flow of time, you have been exiled from Bengal’s frontier, O beautiful Shribhumi. With her sacred hands, Bharati (the goddess of learning) has bound your heart to the heart of the Bengali people, weaving a garland between them. In that bond remain forever woven the blessings of the Bengalis.”

This lyrical reference was the direct inspiration behind the Assam government’s decision to rename the Karimganj district in the Barak Valley to Sribhumi.

Sylhet had been administratively separated from Bengal and attached to Assam in 1874 by the British, yet Tagore emphasized that linguistic and cultural ties between Sylhet and Bengal.

Rabindranath was fascinated by a Manipuri dance he happened to watch. He was also impressed with Manipuri attire. Farzana Siddika, professor of Bangla at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, wrote in
"Rabindranath in Sylhet: A Hundred Years On" that Rabindranath was so charmed by the Manipuri dance that while returning to Kolkata he took along with him a Manipuri dance teacher, with the help of the King of Tripura, to teach his students there.”

The national highway in Shribhumi town is reportedly in poor condition, causing difficulties for commuters and local residents. During Eid-ul-Adha, Sujan Deb Roy collected public donations in front of the Town Eidgah for road repairs. Around ₹8,250 was raised, and repair work reportedly began near the Settlement Service Centre potholes. The initiative also sparked discussions about infrastructure neglect and government responsibility.

All credits to Ketleygold.